Patio or Deck, how do I decide?

How does one go about deciding whether to build a patio or deck? This is a common dilemma for homeowners. Some recommendations from Archadeck of Charlotte are highlighted below.

The first thing to consider when you are looking at whether to build a deck or a patio is the grade of your land. If you are living in a home where it is built on slab and there is little to no slope to your grade where you want to build the structure, a patio is a logical choice. In addition, look at the height of your back door threshold from grade and make sure there is at least 6″ so there is enough room to add “sleepers” to construct a deck. Otherwise, you would need to have a free-standing deck that you would need to build a step to go up to.

If you are living on a home constructed on a crawl space, a deck can be a natural selection because you can adjust the height of the deck to accommodate any rise and add attractive design options like making the deck mulch-level. This even gives you the option of designing a deck and a patio together.